22 – 26 March 2015 | Puerto Varas, Chile
About the workshop
The shape and function of nerve cells is critically dependent on the cytoskeleton, which is a dynamic system of intracellular protein polymers of astonishing complexity and versatility. The cytoskeleton controls all aspects of neuronal shape and motility, including cell migration and axon pathfinding, which define the architecture and wiring pattern of the nervous system, and synaptic morphology and stability, which form the structural basis of learning, memory and cognition. The cytoskeleton also orchestrates the intracellular traffic of macromolecules and membranous organelles that is fundamental to all aspects of nerve cell function. This EMBO Workshop will explore emerging concepts in a number of exciting areas of cytoskeletal research in neurons, including the mechanisms of axonal transport, cytoskeletal dynamics in dendritic spines, the role of the cytoskeleton in the establishment and maintenance of neuronal polarity and in axon growth and guidance, and alterations of the cytoskeleton in neurodegenerative diseases.